Featuring:
Merve
Colonel Mustard

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
2:40 – What We’ve Been Playing
23:45 – EVGA and Nvidia
26:40 – Grand Theft Auto VI Leak
31:35 – Twitch Partially Bans Gambling
38:05 – What Is a Mystery Game?
44:30 – The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story
54:55 – AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative
1:02:45 – Favourite Aspects of Mystery Games
1:08:40 – Immortality
1:19:55 – Hypnospace Outlaw
1:23:00 – Consortium and Other Games on Transportation
1:32:20 – The Danganronpa Series
1:38:00 – Root Film
1:42:45 – FMV Mystery Games
1:50:45 – Life is Strange and Other Mystery Games
1:59:30 – Mysteries in Non-Mystery Games
2:06:20 – Judgment and the Yakuza Series
2:11:55 – Assassin’s Creed
2:13:40 – L.A. Noire and Yakuza 0
2:20:45 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep86

Podcast header image from AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initative. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

MINOR SPOILERS: The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story.

MINOR SPOILERS: Immortality.

MAJOR SPOILERS: Life is Strange 2; Tell Me Why.

MAJOR SPOILERS: L.A. Noire. MINOR SPOILERS: Yakuza 0.

No links here.

Featuring:
Merve
Wafflicious
Wolfman Jew
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
5:00 – What We’ve Been Playing: PowerWash Simulator
13:15 – What We’ve Been Playing: Hades
21:00 – What We’ve Been Playing: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
43:30 – What We’ve Been Playing: Silt
55:05 – Guides and Walkthroughs
1:03:45 – Why We Use Guides and Walkthroughs
1:12:30 – Sources of Guides and Walkthroughs
1:18:00 – Asking for Help
1:24:25 – Printed Strategy Guides and Instruction Manuals
1:43:30 – Help vs. Cheating
2:05:55 – Hidden Content
2:09:15 – The Downsides of Walkthrough Culture
2:16:05 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep85

Podcast header image from Silt. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

MILD SPOILERS: Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

MILD SPOILERS: Final Fantasy VII. MAJOR SPOILERS: Dragon Age: Inquisition.

No links here.

MINOR SPOILERS: Baba Is You and Broken Age.

Featuring:
Merve
Lovely Bones
Ninjaneer
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
2:00 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 1
6:30 – Project Sonic Watch 2022
12:40 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 2
27:05 – Summer Gaming Streams: Overview
54:45 – Summer Gaming Streams: Highlights
1:06:30 – Summer Gaming Streams: Lowlights
1:15:15 – Summer Gaming Streams: Midlights
1:23:55 – Summer Gaming Streams: What Was Missing?
1:28:55 – Summer Gaming Streams: Additional Discussion
1:34:40 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep84

Podcast header image from Neon White. Linkdump after the jump.

• Correction and confirmation: The spicy ranch Doritos flavour is called “Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch,” not “Spicy Cool Ranch,” and it is indeed available in Canada.

• Steam store page for Neon White.
• Steam store page for My Friend Pedro.
• Steam store page for Donut County.
• Wikipedia articles on Mirror’s Edge and Titanfall 2.

• Explanation of the “They hired that man” meme. (Source: Glassguy3 on r/SonicTheHedgehog on Reddit)
• World premiere gameplay for Sonic Frontiers. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Combat gameplay for Sonic Frontiers. (Source: IGN on YouTube)

• Steam store page for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.
• Wikipedia article on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.
• Wikipedia article on River City Girls.
• Steam store page for Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Biosyn Expansion.
• Wikipedia article on therizinosaurus.
• Wikipedia articles on Dinosaucers and Dino-Riders.

• Official website for Summer Game Fest.
• KEIGH-3 artwork. (Source: Discord)
• Capcom showcase 2022. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Dragon’s Dogma 10th anniversary presentation. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Direct. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Sony’s June State of Play. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Final Fantasy XVI Dominance trailer. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Stray gameplay trailer. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Eternights reveal trailer. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Article on Redfall’s and Starfield’s delays. (Source: The Verge)
• Article on Microsoft’s labour neutrality agreement with the Communication Workers of America. (Source: Polygon)

• Trailers for Agent 64: Spies Never Die, American Arcadia, and Highwater. (Sources: PC Gamer, GamesRadar, and thegameawards on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for The Cub. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for The Plucky Squire. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for SCHiM. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Official announce trailer for Pentiment. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on the Bayeux Tapestry.
• Extended showcase footage for High On Life. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• The four Dead Space-alikes shown off at Summer Game Fest kickoff were The Callisto Protocol, Routine, Fort Solis, and Aliens: Dark Descent. (Source: Inverse)
• Trailers for Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, Lost in Play, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, and Street Fighter 6. (Sources: GameTrailers, Wholesome Games, Xbox, and Street Fighter on YouTube)

• Cinematic reveal trailer for Stormgate. (Source: Gamespot on YouTube)
• Release date reveal trailer for Overwatch 2. (Source: PlayOverwatch on YouTube)
• Trailer for Super People. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Gotham Knights Nightwing trailer. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Gigli.
• Wikipedia article on Gotham City Impostors.
• Trailer for As Dusk Falls. (Source: GameSpot Trailers on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Phil Harrison.

• Reveal trailer for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Official gameplay reveal for Starfield. (Source: Bethesda Softworks on YouTube)
• Official trailer for Forza Motorsport. (Source: Forza on YouTube)
• Trailer for Gunfire Reborn. (Source: GameSpot Trailers on YouTube)
• Report on the unreleased sequel to 1-2 Switch. (Source: Fanbyte)
• The Calling trailer for Soul Hackers 2. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)

• Official announce trailer for Avowed, from July 23rd, 2020. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Official announce trailer for Perfect Dark, from December 10th, 2020. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Announce trailer for Everwild, from November 14th, 2019. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on the Killer Instinct franchise.
• Bayonetta 3 didn’t have a new trailer a week after we recorded this episode, but it did have a new trailer before this episode came out. (Source: Nintendo UK on Youtube)

• Gameplay trailer for Exoprimal. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Official reveal trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Trailer for Metal Hellsinger. (Source: GameSpot Trailers on YouTube)

No links here.

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
3:20 – PS Plus Revamp
34:40 – What We’ve Been Playing
1:18:15 – Square Enix Sells North American Holdings to Embracer Group
1:35:00 – The Diversity Space Tool
1:58:05 – Gotham Knights Trailer
2:10:30 – E3 and Summer Game Fest
2:36:00 – Canadian Stuff
2:42:20 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep83

Podcast header image from The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, taken from the Square Enix blog. Linkdump after the jump.

• The contact page for the AVoCADo GamesCast.

• Games list and prices for the new PlayStation Plus. (Source: Polygon)
• Report on pressure felt by Nintendo due to slowing Switch sales. (Source: Nintendo Life)
• Doom running on a pregnancy test. (Source: @Foone on Twitter)

• Nintendo store page for The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story.
• The FMV game loosely based on the Jack the Ripper murders is simply titled Ripper. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on The Council.
• Wikipedia article on Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong.
• Steam store page for Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada.
• Confirmation: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity came out in 2020. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Steam store page for Battlefield 2042.
• Wikipedia article on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.
• Wikipedia article on Halo Infinite.
• Epic store page for Just Cause 4.
• Wikipedia article on Avalanche Studios’ Mad Max video game.

• Official press release about the deal from Embracer Group.
• Sales information for Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Sleeping Dogs. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Official press release from Square Enix about Crystal Dynamics’s and Eidos Interactive’s financials.
• Clarification: That 12 million sales figure for the Deus Ex franchise is just for Human Revolution and Mankind Divided. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Article on the recent crypto market crash. (Source: Kotaku)

• The blog post about King’s diversity space tool that sparked the controversy; a lot of it has been edited out. Original version archived here. (Sources: Activision Blizzard blog and Internet Archive)
• Moira page from the Overwatch Wiki. (Source: Fandom)
• Joel Miller page from The Last of Us Wiki. (Source: Fandom)

• Gameplay demo footage for Gotham Knights. (Source: Warner Bros. Games on YouTube)
• ResetEra discussion thread on the trailer.
• PC Gamer article on the trailer.
• The Uncharted 4 E3 demo fail. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)

• Report on E3 2022’s cancellation. (Source: IGN)
• In-depth article on some of the factors that might have led to the cancellation. (Source: CNET)
• Correction: Gamasutra rebranded as Game Developer last year. (Source: Game Developer)
• Official website for Summer Game Fest.
• Official websites for PAX, Gamescom, and Tokyo Game Show.
• Specially marked copies of Crackdown came bundled with the multiplayer beta for Halo 3. (Source: Wikipedia)

• Official websites for Tim Hortons, The Keg, and Harvey’s.
• Correction: Merve omitted one of the key ingredients of Moose Milk: coffee. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Correction: Moose milk (not the cocktail, the dairy product) is also commercially farmed in Sweden. (Source: Wikipedia)

No links here.

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
Special Guest: MP

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
3:05 – What We’ve Been Playing
50:50 – Destiny 2 and Multiplayer Balance
1:03:55 – MP’s Video Content
1:13:50 – How YouTube Works, Part 1
1:32:00 – How Twitch Works, Part 1
1:38:35 – Sponsorships
1:43:20 – How YouTube Works, Part 2
1:46:05 – Twitch and YouTube Drama
1:54:35 – How Twitch Works, Part 2
2:02:45 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep82

Podcast header image from ANNO: Mutationem, using font Pixeled by OmegaPC777. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

• Wikipedia articles on Polka Dot Door, Om Shanti Om, and Enid Blyton.
• Confirmation: Finnish and Hungarian are indeed both Uralic languages, though Finnish is much more closely related to Estonian than Hungarian is. (Source: Wikipedia)
• The email Merve got was from Podstatus, and it said that the AVoCADo GamesCast was the 36th most popular gaming podcast in Estonia in the 30-day period ending on October 14th, 2021. The subject line was “AVoCADo GamesCast is ranking very well is Estonia.”

MILD SPOILERS FOR THE YAKUZA SERIES

• Steam store page for Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector.
• Wikipedia article on Matrix Games.
• Information on the structure of the new PlayStation Plus service. (Source: PlayStation Blog)
• Wikipedia articles on Warhammer and Warhammer video games.
• Confirmation: Yes, a game similar to Vermintide but set in the 40,000 universe is coming this year, and it’s called Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on MLB The Show 22.
• Wikipedia article on Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
• Wikipedia article on burusera. [Mildly NSFW]
• Steam store page for SpellForce 3 Reforced.
• The upcoming dinosaur park simulator that Merve was talking about was Prehistoric Kingdom. (Source: Steam)
• Steam store page for the upcoming Builders of Egypt.
• Correction: The Square Enix “real time tactical battle” game is called The DioField Chronicle, singular. (Source: Steam)
• Steam store pages for Humankind and Before We Leave.
• Steam store pages for the upcoming Dune: Spice Wars and Homeworld 3.
• Nintendo store page for Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
• Nintendo store pages for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
• Steam store page for ANNO: Mutationem.
• Wikipedia article on the loonie.
• Correction: The value of the metals in a U.S. nickel is $0.0538 US, based on April 2021 prices. However, it is likely significantly higher now, because the price of nickel has skyrocketed due to the war in Ukraine. The cost of minting a U.S. penny is $0.0176 US, based on 2020 figures. (Source: Wikipedia)
• The Vancouver bridge that The Kappa mentioned is the Lions Gate Bridge. (Source: Google Maps)
• Wikipedia articles on The Flash and The X-Files.
• Steam store page for Terraria.
• Official website for League of Legends.
• Wikipedia article on EverQuest.
• Steam store page for Dota 2.
• Wikipedia article on Judge Judy.

• Wikipedia article on Destiny 2.
• Wikipedia article on Valorant.
• Wikipedia article on Apex Legends.
• IFrostBolt’s Twitch channel.
• Wikipedia article on Halo Infinite.

• MP’s YouTube channel.
• MP’s viral “first Forsaken exotic” video. (Source: MP Edits on YouTube)
• MP’s “Fighting Lion” video. (Source: MP Edits on YouTube)
• MP’s “SPACE COWBOY” video with the recreated Destiny 2 UI. (Source: MP Edits on YouTube)
• MP’s Fiverr Destiny montage video. (Source: MP Edits on YouTube)

• Clarification: As per their game content policy, Nintendo no longer has severe restrictions on online video content and no longer has a revenue sharing program. (Source: Nintendo)
• Correction: Bungie is not suing Google; Bungie is suing 10 currently unidentified individuals for fraudulent copyright takedown notices. (Source: Kotaku)
• TikTok homepage.
• Travis Scott and Ariana Grande events in Fortnite. (Source: Travis Scott and Ariana Grande on YouTube)

• Ninja’s Twitch channel. (Not endorsed by the AVoCADo GameCast.)
• News article on the Artesian Builds controversy and subsequent shutdown. (Source: GamesIndustry.biz)

• The YouTuber who crashed a plane was former Olympian Trevor Jacob. (Source: Jalopnik)
• Confirmation: JackThreads still exists. (Source: Official JackThreads website)
• Official websites for Blue Apron and Harris Teeter.

• Correction: As of February 2021, the YouTube Space in Los Angeles is permanently closed, so content creators with 100,000 subscribers or more can no longer use it. (Source: Wikipedia)

• MoistCr1TiKaL’s YouTube channel.
• Wikipedia article on Joseph Conrad’s The Children of the Sea, more commonly known by a title with a racial slur in it. (Content warning: slurs)
• h3h3’s and Keemstar’s YouTube channels. (Not endorsed by the AVoCADo GamesCast)
• Article on JiDion and Pokimane’s feud and reconciliation. (Source: GGRecon)

• The Food & Drink category on Twitch.
• Official website for PAX.
• Facebook Gaming.

• Final trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• MP’s YouTube channel, Twitch channel, and Twitter feed.

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
Wolfman Jew
Bresson

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
5:05 – Why There’s So Much Gaming News in February
8:35 – Digimon Con
13:35 – Soul Hackers 2 and MegaTen Games
18:10 – February Nintendo Direct
40:55 – Dune: Spice Wars
46:15 – Pokémon Presents
50:05 – Sony Buys Bungie and Other Acquisitions
58:15 – What We’ve Been Playing
1:29:00 – Trivia Challenge
1:43:45 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep81

Podcast header image from The Good Life. Linkdump, spoiler warnings, and answers for the trivia challenge after the jump.

• The Jelle’s Marble Runs and ThorHighHeels YouTube channels, both from the Netherlands.
• Wikipedia article on Columbo.
• Steam store page for The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, whose protagonist is Ryonosuke Naruhodo.
• Official website for The Witch Queen, the most recent Destiny 2 expansion.
• Wikipedia article on the Baldur’s Gate series.
• Wikipedia article on Dragon Age: Origins.

• Wikipedia article on Mass Effect: Andromeda.

• Information on Digimon Survive revealed at Digimon Con. (Source: Siliconera)
• Official website for Witchcraft (in Japanese).
• Official website for Hyde (in Japanese).
• Wikipedia article on Mighty No. 9.
• Official website for the Polish Witchcraft Studios, not to be confused with the Japanese Witchcraft.
• The American and Canadian intros for Dragonball Z. Merve would like to apologize for characterizing the Canadian intro as “butt rock” when it’s really more ‘80s synth rock than anything. (Sources: dragon chan and Eidlones on YouTube)
• Music video for “Hunger Strike” by Temple Of The Dog. (Source: Temple Of The Dog on YouTube)

• Announcement trailer for Soul Hackers 2. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Persona 5 Strikers.
• Wikipedia article on Hyrule Warriors.

• English February 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Mouthful Mode reveal trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Nintendo Switch Sports. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Wii Sports.
• Wikipedia article on Fru.
• Wikipedia article on Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor.
• Wikipedia article on Binary Domain.
• Wikipedia article on Arms.
• Trailer for the Chrono Cross remaster. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announce trailer for The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story. (Source: Square Enix on YouTube)
• Report on the cloud versions of Kingdom Hearts games running on Switch. (Source: Polygon)
• Correction: It hasn’t been confirmed that the PS4 versions of the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 collections are running on a layer of emulation; this is just a well-informed rumour. Moreover, this setup would be emulating components of the PS3, not the PS2. (Source: ajdragoon in the Kotaku comments section.)
• Announcement trailer for the Switch port of No Man’s Sky. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Japanese February 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation. (Source: Nintendo 公式チャンネル on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on h.a.n.d.
• Wikipedia article on the Tex Murphy series.
• Steam store page for Root Letter Last Answer, the remake of Root Letter with live-action sequences.

• Preview footage for Dune: Spice Wars. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Dune Wiki article on Arrakis. (Source: Fandom)
• Dune Wiki article on the Butlerian Jihad. (Source: Fandom)
• Dune Wiki article on the Fremen. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on Sins of a Solar Empire.

• An illustration of Alolan Exeggutor. (Source: Bulbapedia)
• Announcement trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. (Source: The Official Pokémon YouTube channel on YouTube)
• Information on Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet’s starters. (Source: Eurogamer)

• Report on Nintendo’s acquisition of SRD. (Source: GamesIndustry.biz)
• Report on Sony’s acquisition of Bungie. (Source: GamesIndustry.biz)
• Hoeg Law video on Sony’s acquisition of Bungie, and a helpful Reddit summary. (Sources: Hoeg Law on YouTube and r/DestinyTheGame on Reddit)

MAJOR SPOILERS for Unpacking and Kingdom Hearts II

• Nintendo store page for Unpacking.
• Steam store page for Total War: Warhammer III.
• Wikipedia article on Kingdom Hearts II.
• Steam store page for The Good Life.
• Wikipedia article on Balan Wonderworld.

• Wikipedia article on the Gears of War series.
• Wikipedia article on Vancouver studio The Coalition.
• Wikipedia article on Perfect Dark.
• Perfect Dark Wiki article on Elvis. (Source: Fandom)
• Official webpage for Wordle.
• Wikipedia article on Fahrenheit, a.k.a Indigo Prophecy.
• Wikipedia article on Theory of a Deadman.
• Wikipedia article on the Commander Keen series.
• Wikipedia article on Cortana from the Halo franchise.
• IMDB page for Jen Taylor.
• Wikipedia article on the “All your base are belong to us” meme.
• Wikipedia article on Zero Wing.
• Bulbapedia article on Zapdos.
• Wikipedia article on Kazutaka Kodaka.
• Wikipedia article on Danganronpa.
• Wikipedia article on the Dune franchise.
• Wikipedia article on Tacoma.
• Zeldapedia article on Rupees. (Source: Fandom)
• As of this writing, 1 Canadian dollar is worth 60.09 Indian rupees. (Source: Google)
• Wikipedia article on the Sly Cooper series.
• Wikipedia article on the Infamous series.
• Wikipedia article on Ghost of Tsushima.
• Wikipedia article on Sucker Punch Productions.
• Wikipedia article on Half-Life.
• The Half-Life & Portal Encyclopedia article on Xen. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on the Monkey Island series.
• Wikipedia article on Guybrush Threepwood.
• Wikipedia article on theSoulcalibur franchise.
• Wikipedia article on Soul Edge, a.k.a. Soul Blade.
• IMDB page for Michael Fassbender.
• IMDB page for Marion Cotillard.
• Wikipedia article on the Assassin’s Creed film.
• Hololive Wiki articles on Gawr Gura, Amelia Watson, and Calliope Mori. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on Hololive Production.
• Virtual YouTuber Wiki article on VOMS Project. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on Waluigi.
• Wikipedia article on Mario Tennis.
• Wikipedia article on Among Us.
• Official website for Innersloth.
• The Avocado’s Werewolves games.

No links here.

1. What is the name of the Vancouver, B.C. studio that currently develops the Gears of War franchise?
   Answer: The Coalition
2. What is the name of the little grey alien whom Joanna Dark rescues in Perfect Dark and who later assists her on missions?
   Answer: Elvis (Aelphaeis Mangarae)
3. How many attempts do you have to correctly guess a word in Wordle?
   Answer: 6
4. The soundtrack of Fahrenheit, a.k.a. Indigo Prophecy, featured songs by which Canadian post-grunge band, including “Santa Monica” and “No Surprise”?
   Answer: Theory of a Deadman
5. Which video game hero wears a fuchsia t-shirt, blue jeans, and a Green Bay Packers helmet?
   Answer: Commander Keen (Billy Blaze)
6. Who voices Cortana?
   Answer: Jen Taylor
7. From which video game does the phrase “All your base are belong to us” originate?
   Answer: Zero Wing
8. Of the three Legendary Bird Pokémon from the original 150, which one comes second in the Pokédex?
   Answer: Zapdos (get it, because “dos” means two in Spanish)
9. Kazutaka Kodaka created which “psycho-pop” video game franchise featuring a scholastic killing game and a psychopathic teddy bear named Monokuma?
   Answer: Danganronpa
10. Video games based on which sci-fi franchise created by Frank Herbert are said to be seminal games in the real-time strategy genre?
    Answer: Dune
11. Which game, developed by Fullbright, is set aboard a space station and involves using an AR device to review past conversations?
    Answer: Tacoma
12. What is the currency in the Legend of Zelda franchise called?
    Answer: Rupees
13. Which studio, currently owned by Sony, developed the Sly Cooper franchise, the Infamous franchise, and Ghost of Tsushima?
    Answer: Sucker Punch Productions
14. What is the name of the alien world that you visit in the final section of Half-Life?
    Answer: Xen
15. What is the name of the protagonist of the Monkey Island franchise?
    Answer: Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood
16. The first game in the fighting game franchise Soulcalibur wasn’t called “Soulcalibur,” but was instead called what? (I’ll accept either the Japanese title or the Western one.)
    Answer: Soul Edge or Soul Blade (Soulcalibur is actually the second game in the series!)
17. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard starred in a 2016 movie based on which video game franchise?
    Answer: Assassin’s Creed
18. Gawr Gura, Amelia Watson, and Calliope Mori are vtubers belonging to which agency?
    Answer: Hololive
19. Waluigi made his first appearance in which video game?
    Answer: Mario Tennis (N64)
20. What is the name of the American video game studio that developed and published Among Us?
    Answer: Innersloth

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
Lutair
Lovely Bones

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
6:50 – What We Played Over the Holidays
32:50 – Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision
52:00 – 2022 Predictions
1:31:40 – Games We’re Looking Forward to in 2022
2:02:05 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep80

Podcast header image from Type:Rider. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

• Official teaser trailer for Starfield. (Source: Bethesda Softworks on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on pumpkin spice.
• Official website for Dunkin’ Donuts.
• Official website for Tim Hortons.
• Correction: Burger King actually did purchase Tim Hortons (not the other way around), but the merged company is incorporated in Canada as a subsidiary of the Canadian holding company Restaurant Brands International, in which Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital has a majority stake. (Source: Wikipedia)

MAJOR SPOILERS for Type:Rider

• Steam store page for Project Zomboid.
• boxbox‘s Twitch channel.
• Official Nintendo page for WarioWare: Get It Together!
• The “Mona pizza” song from WarioWare: Touched! (Source: Tutajkk on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II.
• Steam store page for Type:Rider.

• News report on the acquisition. (Source: The Verge)
• Geoff Keighley’s controversial “shopping list” Tweet. (Source: @geoffkeighley on Twitter)

• Report on E3 2022’s probable cancellation. (Source: ComicBook.com)
• The infamous Metaverse rave Tweet. (Source: @alexmoss on Twitter)
• Merve’s 1st prediction (normal): Steam Deck won’t work as well as advertised.
• Steam Deck is officially coming out on February 25th. (Source: Steam)
• Merve’s 2nd prediction (normal): Digimon Survive will release this year within a couple of months of Digimon Con, and a new Digimon Story game will be announced at Digimon Con for a late 2023 release date.
• Digimon Con is set for February 26th. (Source: DigimonWeb, the official Digimon website)
• Merve’s 3rd prediction (wacky): The new Mario Kart game will be a mash-up with F-Zero.
• Serkan Toto’s insider information that Mario Kart 9 “comes with a new twist.” (Source: GamesIndustry.biz)
• The Kappa’s 1st prediction (normal): Digital purchases will increasingly be interoperable between stores.
• Ubisoft Store page for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction.
• The Kappa’s 2nd prediction (wacky): Nvidia is hoarding RTX 30 series (“3000 series”) GPUs, and the card drought will end abruptly this year once the 4000 series is announced.
• Nvidia’s official webpage for the GeForce RTX 30 series.
• The Kappa’s 3rd prediction (normal): The games that will dominate the conversation this year are indie games that aren’t currently on many people’s radars.
• Steam store page for Bastion.
• The “UnderTale” (sic) Kickstarter campaign.
• Steam store page for Vampire Survivors.
• Steam store page for Elden Ring.
• Lovely Bones’s 1st prediction (normal): Obsidian will put out a lot of information on all their upcoming games.
• Wikipedia article on Obsidian Entertainment.
• Lovely Bones’s 2nd prediction (wacky): Star Fox for Switch will be announced for a 2023 release.
• Wikipedia article on Starlink: Battle for Atlas.
• Lovely Bones’s 3rd prediction (normal): We will get a full “E3-style” video demo of Insomniac’s upcoming Spider-Man game this year, but we won’t hear anything about their Wolverine game.
• Reveal trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Reveal trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Lutair’s 1st prediction (normal): When Braid: Anniversary Edition comes out this year, it’ll spark a two-week torrent of discourse and then disappear from the zeitgeist entirely.
• Announcement of Braid: Anniversary Edition. (Source: Thekla Inc. on YouTube)
• Lutair’s 2nd prediction (wacky): The upcoming Mario movie will be good.
• Wikipedia article on the untitled Mario film.
• Lutair’s 3rd prediction (wacky): Play-to-earn games will become annoyingly big this year but then crash after government intervention or legal challenges.
• Wikipedia article on blockchain games.

MAJOR SPOILERS for Dragon Age: Inquisition

• Story trailer for Elden Ring. (Source: BANDAI NAMCO Europe on YouTube)
• Official reveal trailer for MultiVersus. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.
• Announce trailer for Total War: Warhammer III. (Source: Total War on YouTube)
• Gameplay trailer for Stray. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Maquette.
• Announcement trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Teaser trailer for Digimon Survive. You can ignore the planned 2019 release date. (Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America on YouTube)
• Story trailer for AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative. (Source: Spike Chunsoft on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Sports Story. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Cinematic trailer for Dragon Age 4. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• The report on how BioWare’s Anthem went wrong that introduced the term “BioWare magic” to the world. (Source: Kotaku)
• Official teaser trailer for Starfield. (Source: Bethesda Softworks on YouTube)
• Development update on Metroid Prime 4. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Official gameplay reveal trailer for Marvel’s Midnight Suns. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Gameplay sneak peek trailer for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Game Awards gameplay trailer for Saints Row. (Source: Saints Row on YouTube)
• Story trailer for Harold Halibut. (Source: Harold Halibut on YouTube)
• Official trailer for She Dreams Elsewhere. (Source: studio zevere. on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Afterlove EP. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Neon White. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Official announcement trailer for Baldur’s Gate 3. (Source: Larian Studios on YouTube)
• 13-minute gameplay preview for Pokémon Legends: Arceus. (Source: The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel on YouTube)
• The Avocado’s Game News Roundup, run by Lovely Bones.

• Information on the new Windows 11 Paint app. (Source: ZDNet)
• Wordle, everyone’s new favourite word game.
• Lyric video for “Just the Two of Us.” Confirmation: Merve does indeed have to apologize to Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers. (Source: RHINO on YouTube)

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
3rdstringhero
Canadave87
DashboardDough
Dramus18
LittleMac
Science is Bad

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
3:35 – The Game Awards: Ceremony and Awards
22:20 – The Game Awards: Announcements, Part 1
52:50 – The Game Awards: Project Sonic Watch 2022
53:00 – The Game Awards: Announcements, Part 2
57:15 – Abuse and Labour in the Games Industry
1:08:45 – Epic vs. Apple and Google
1:22:55 – Studio Acquisitions
1:34:55 – Community Top 3: 3rdstringhero
1:39:50 – Community Top 3: Canadave87
1:49:50 – Community Top 3: DashboardDough
1:56:00 – Community Top 3: Dramus18
2:02:35 – Community Top 3: LittleMac
2:11:55 – Community Top 3: Science is Bad
2:22:10 – Merve and The Kappa’s Top Fives
3:22:45 – Worst and Most Disappointing Games of 2021
3:47:15 – Surprises of 2021
3:54:55 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep79

Podcast header image from OPUS: Echo of Starsong. Linkdump and content warnings after the jump.

• Wikipedia article on the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant.

• Official website for The Game Awards.
• Stream archive for the 2021 Game Awards. (Source: thegameawards on YouTube)
• The Avocado’s live chat for The Game Awards.
• Nominees and winners at The Game Awards. (Source: The Game Awards)
• Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• Steam store page for Psychonauts 2.
• Steam store page for Deathloop.
• Steam store page for Resident Evil Village.
• Steam store page for Genesis Noir.
• Steam store page for Chicory: A Colorful Tale.

• Announcement trailer for Dune: Spice Wars. (Source: Funcom on YouTube)
• Confirmation: Dune 2000 was indeed released before 2000, in 1998. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article for Shiro Games.
• Wikipedia article on the Command & Conquer franchise.
• Announcement trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. (Source: thegameawards on YouTube)
• Reveal trailer for Alan Wake 2. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Teaser trailer for Slitterhead. Correction: Slitterhead is Bokeh’s debut game, not their debut “studio.” (Source: Bokeh Game Studio)
• Wonder Womanreveal trailer. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Cinematic reveal trailer for Quantic Dream’s Star Wars Eclipse. (Source: Star Wars on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Star Wars: Visions.
• Wikipedia article on Detroit: Become Human.
• “Sessions: Diana,” a royalty-free music collection by Riot Games. (Source: Riot Games Music on YouTube)
• Reveal trailer for Thirsty Suitors. (Source: Annapurna Interactive on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on I Feel Bad.

• Announce trailer for Sonic Frontiers. (Sonic the Hedgehog on YouTube)

• Reveal trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum: The Untold Story. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Correction: Abe’s Oddysee is actually one of the Oddworld games, not a separate franchise. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Game Awards 2021 trailer for Forspoken. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of sexual misconduct

• Wikipedia article on the lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing against Activision Blizzard.
• Report on Bobby Kotick’s involvement in the ongoing problems at Activision Blizzard. (Source: Wall Street Journal)
• Report on layoffs at Raven Software. (Source: The Verge)
• Report on the ongoing union drive at Activision Blizzard. (Source: The Verge)
• Report on Jennifer Oneal’s resignation as co-head of Blizzard. (Source: Kotaku)
• Survey about why people didn’t buy Call of Duty: Vanguard. (Source: gamesindustry.biz)
• Eidos-Montréal’s announcement about moving to a four-day workweek. (Source: Eidos-Montréal)

• Report on the hearing of Epic’s case against Apple. (Source: Associated Press)
• Report on the judge’s ruling. (Source: The Verge)
• Report on Valve changing their cut for Steam purchases in 2018. (Source: TechCrunch)

• Wikipedia’s article on 2021 in video games lists most of these acquisitions.
• Correction: Gearbox does not appear to have their own dedicated launcher. (Source: Gearbox Software)
• Wikipedia article on Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
• Official webpage for Xbox Game Pass.

• First place: Steam store page for Scarlet Nexus.
• Second place: Official Nintendo page for Monster Hunter Rise.
• Third place: Steam store page for Halo Infinite.
• Epic Games Store page for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.

• Voting thread for the video game category of the Pits, The Avocado’s annual awards show.
• Third place: Steam store page for Inscryption.
• Second place: Steam store page for Call of the Sea.
• First place: Steam store page for Sable.

• First place: Official PlayStation page for Returnal.
• Second place: Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• Third place: Steam store page for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

• Third place: Official Nintendo page for Bowser’s Fury.
• Second place: Steam store page for Deltarune (including Chapter 2).
• First placed: Steam store page for Rhythm Doctor.

• Origin page for Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny.
• Official Nintendo page for Shin Megami Tensei V.
• Official Nintendo page for Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars.
• Third place: Official Nintendo page for WarioWare: Get It Together!
• Second place: Official Nintendo page for Bowser’s Fury.
• First place: Official Nintendo page for Metroid Dread.

• Third place: Steam store page for Unpacking.
• Second place: Steam store page for Psychonauts 2.
• First place: Steam store page for Resident Evil Village.

• Merve’s #5: Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• The Kappa’s #5: Epic Games Store page for Far Cry 6.
• Merve’s #4: Steam store page for Psychonauts 2.
• The Kappa’s #4: Official Xbox page for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.
• Go listen to “Superman” by Goldfinger! (Source: Goldfinger Music on YouTube)
• Merve’s #3: Steam store page for Adios.
• The Kappa’s #3: Steam store page for Age of Empires IV.
• Merve’s #2: Epic Games Store page for Hitman 3.
• Clarification: You can go outside in the Dubai level of Hitman 3; you just can’t leave the building. (Source: Gamer4Sight on YouTube)
• The Kappa’s #2: Steam store page for Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
• Correction: Combat in the Legendary version of Mass Effect 1 has not been modified to include ammo instead of weapon cooldowns; the cooldowns have just been shortened, among other changes to the combat. (Source: Mass Effect Wiki Guide on IGN)
• The Pits 2021 video game results. (Source: The Avocado)
• Merve’s #1: Steam store page for OPUS: Echo of Starsong.
• Sisi Jiang’s review of OPUS: Echo of Starsong. (Source: Kotaku)
• The Kappa’s #1: Steam store page for Halo Infinite.

• Steam store page for Maquette.
• Wikipedia article on publisher Annapurna Interactive. N.B. There is an error in the article: Hindsight has not yet been released.
• Steam store page for Outriders.
• Official Nintendo page for Unpacking.
• Steam store page for New World.
• Steam store page for Operation: Tango.
• Steam store page for We Were Here.

• Epic Games Store page for Fortnite.
• Steam store page for Age of Empires IV.
• The “Most Anticipated Game” category at The Game Awards.
• Steam store page for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
• The somewhat janky looking preview footage that Marvel Entertainment released for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. (Source: Marvel Entertainment on YouTube)
• Epic Games Store page for Radiohead’s KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION.
• Steam store page for Persona 5 Strikers.
• The Jack Frost horde scene from Persona 5 Strikers. (Source: CGInferno on YouTube)

No links here.

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
3:25 – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
30:25 – New World
49:25 – Tales of Arise
1:06:10 – Age of Empires IV
1:15:35 – The Hitman Series
1:22:40 – Evil Genius 2
1:26:10 – Deathloop
1:34:45 – Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
1:40:00 – Golf Club Wasteland
1:47:15 – It Takes Two
1:58:25 – Upcoming Games
2:16:25 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep78

Podcast header image from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

• Aaron Rodgers admitted to being unvaccinated and taking ivermectin. (Source: NBC News)
• Rodgers has been dropped by Prevea Health and had his ad time cut by State Farm. (Sources: CBS Sports and New York Post)

• Steam store page for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Steam store page for Marvel’s Avengers.
• Know Your Meme page on “Welcome to Die!”
• Clarification: While Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order was developed by Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja, the first two games in the series were developed by Activision’s Raven Software and Vicarious Visions, respectively. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Correction: Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda made his statement implying that Crystal Dynamics was the wrong fit for a games-as-a-service title in the company’s annual report, not in an interview or press conference. (Source: VGC)
• Correction: The Black Panther DLC for Marvel’s Avengers is called War For Wakanda. Wakanda Forever is the subtitle for the upcoming Black Panther film. (Sources: The Verge and Wikipedia)

• Steam store page for New World.
• Wikipedia article on Legend of the Red Dragon.
• Correction: The Realm Online was originally published by Sierra On-Line, but is currently maintained by Rat Labs. Robinson Technologies is the company that made Legend of the Red Dragon. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on EverQuest.
• Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe. (Source: Wikisource)
• Official website for Genshin Impact.

MINOR SPOILERS FOR TALES OF ARISE.

• Steam store page for Tales of Arise.
• Wikipedia article on Final Fantasy VI.
• Wikipedia article on Persona 5.

• Steam store page for Age of Empires IV.

• Epic Games Store page for Hitman 3.
• Correction: The tutorial mission in New Zealand, “Nightcall,” is the first mission in Hitman 2, not Hitman 3. The first mission in Hitman 3 is “On Top of the World,” set in Dubai. (Source: Hitman Wiki on Fandom)
• Correction: The Chinese cyberpunk level in Hitman 3, “End of an Era” is set in Chongqing, not Shanghai or Hong Kong. (Source: Hitman Wiki on Fandom)

• Steam store page for Evil Genius 2: World Domination.

• Steam store page for Deathloop.
• Reprise is the name of the ability in Deathloop that gives you two continues. (Source: Deathloop Wiki on Fandom)
• The new game from Dean Hall, creator of DayZ, is called Icarus. (Source: Official Icarus website)

• Steam store page for Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms.
• Steam store page for the “Bardic Inspirations” soundtrack.
• The Phantom Rabbid song from Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. (Source: Boss Fight Database on YouTube)

• Steam store page for Golf Club Wasteland.
• Steam store page for Golf With Your Friends.
• Correction: Demagog Studio, the makers of Golf Club Wasteland, are located in Belgrade, Serbia. (Source: LinkedIn)

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR A WAY OUT.

• Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• Steam store page for A Way Out.
• Steam store page for We Were Here.
• Steam store page for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2.
• Official Nintendo page for WarioWare: Get It Together!

• Steam store page for Halo Infinite.
• Steam store page for Battlefield 2042.
• Steam store page for Jurassic World Evolution 2.
• Know Your Meme page for Domino Effect.
• The “octagon” layout in SimCity. (Source: Zhatt on YouTube)
• Epic store page for Solar Ash.
• Info on Halo Infinite’s battle pass. (Source: IGN)
• Official website for Call of Duty: Vanguard.
• Halo Alpha entry on Arbiter. (Source: Fandom)

• The games Merve played in 2017. (Source: Refrigerator Rants)
• Correction: Plus signs would be encoded and can’t be directly included in a domain name. (Source: URLEncoder)

Featuring:
The Kappa
Bresson
LittleMac

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
1:00 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 1
23:30 – Richard Garriott and MMOs
32:15 – The Activision Blizzard Scandal
48:30 – Steam Deck
1:00:40 – Non-Traditional Sports Games
1:34:55 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 2
1:38:45 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep77

Podcast header image from Wired. Linkdump after the jump.

No links here.

• Wikipedia article on Max Payne.
• Wikipedia article on Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy.
• The game with custom shareable dungeons that The Kappa mentioned was most likely the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past. (Source: Eggplante!)
• Wikipedia article on Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny.

• Wikipedia article on Richard Garriott.
• Wikipedia article on Tabula Rasa.
• Wikipedia article on Legend of the Red Dragon.

• The original report on the lawsuit by Maeve Allsup. (Source: Bloomberg Law)

• Official website for the Steam Deck.
• Wikipedia article on This War of Mine.

• Official website for the Olympics.
• Wikipedia article on the Football Manager series.
• Wikipedia article on the Madden NFL series.
• Wikipedia article on the Eastside Hockey Manager series.
• Wikipedia article on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
• Clarification: “Caveman Games” refers to Caveman Ughlympics. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Super Dodge Ball.
• Journal article on the nekketsu subgenre of manga. (Source: Comicalités)
• Wikipedia article on The Aquatic Games Starring James Pond and the Aquabats.
• Wikipedia article on Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.
• Wikipedia article on the Virtual Boy.
• Wikipedia article on FIFA Street.
• Wikipedia article on the NFL Blitz series.
• Wikipedia article on the NBA Jam series.
• Wikipedia article on Fight Night Champion.
• Wikipedia article on Mutant League Football.
• Wikipedia article on Mutant League Hockey.
• Wikipedia article on the Mutant League animated series.
• Wikipedia article on Carmaggedon.
• Wikipedia article on Cyber Stadium Series – Base Wars.
• The box art for Cyber Stadium Series – Base Wars. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Allgame’s review of Cyber Stadium Series – Base Wars that describes the difficulty of fielding. (Retrieved from The Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine)
• Wikipedia article on Pyre.
• Wikipedia article on the Punch-Out!! series.
• OpenRetro page for Chiyonofuji no Ooichou.
• Correction: The loincloth that sumo wrestlers wear is called a “mawashi.” (Source: Wikipedia)

• Wikipedia article on The Ascent.

No links here.